Current global consumption patterns would require a second Earth.
The “2010 Living Planet Report” by the World Wildlife Fund, which measures the global consumption of natural resources, has found that natural resources are currently being consumed at 1.5 times the capacity that Earth can provide.

By measuring each country’s carbon, water, and other resources, and then calculating the amounts used by an average person, the WWF found that some countries have such enormous ecological footprints that they would use the resources of six planets if everyone on Earth lived in the same manner.

Such excessive levels of consumption are placing immense pressure on natural habitats and the wildlife they support, which is reflected in a 30% decline of biodiversity across the globe since 1970 with tropical regions devastated losses of 60%.

In calculating what is known as an Ecological Footprint, the report identified human activities that use land or aquatic environments and found that livestock raising, including crops raised for feed, as well as fishing, result in immense environmental depletion.
Thus, WWF UK Chief Executive David Nussbaum urges for reductions in dietary meat consumption as a logical way to preserve both resources and biodiversity.

Many thanks, Chief Executive Nussbaum and World Wildlife Fund for this report, highlighting our urgent need to simplify for the sake of the Earth’s survival. Let us swiftly transition to the resource-sparing plant-based diet to help restore the balance of life on the planet.
Speaking with concern about the damage to our ecosphere during an interview published in the December 16, 2009 edition of The Irish Dog Journal, Supreme Master Ching Hai affirmed the critical need to stop meat consumption for the preservation of the Earth.


http://www.prweb.com/releases/World_Wildlife_Fund/2010_Living_Planet_Report/prweb4645084.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8061709/Britons-use-three-times-the-planets-resources.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/8061676/Tropical-species-decline-by-60-per-cent.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101013/sc_afp/environmentspeciesbiodiversitywarming_20101013123412

Plants clean up more pollution than previously believed.
With plants and trees being known for their ability to absorb and transform harmful gases like carbon dioxide, researchers at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) recently discovered other substances that plants also absorb.

They found that some are particularly efficient at transforming chemicals known as oxygenated volatile organic compounds (oVOCs), which can create long term health and environmental damage, including contributing to lung infections and asthma attacks.

Deciduous trees,which shed their leaves annually, were found to take in these chemicals four times faster than previously thought, with trees that are gathered in a forest setting being even more efficient.  
National Center for Atmospheric Research scientists, we appreciate these insights into the further gifts offered by the plant kingdom for human benefit.

May our deeper appreciation inspire ever more protection for the natural world.  
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/plants-clean-up-more-air-pollution-than-previously-thought.php

Extra News
Having pledged to significantly reduce carbon emissions by 2020, China invested nearly US$36 billion in clean energy measures in 2009 and is now assuming a leading role in alternative energy initiatives.

http://www.physorg.com/news205821378.html

Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio, USA announces the construction of one of the largest solar plants in the nation, containing a nearly 50-megawatt array that is expected to generate energy for some 25,000 homes as well as create 600 construction and other permanent green jobs.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/06/huge-solar-plant-to-bring-green-jobs-to-ohio/
http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/41133/AEP+to+Buy+Solar+Power